The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Supreme Court, seeking directions for the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Director General of Police (DGP) of the state, and the Kolkata police commissioner, alleging obstruction of a money laundering probe linked to political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).
In its petition filed on Monday, the ED alleged that senior constitutional and police authorities in West Bengal actively interfered with and sabotaged a lawful investigation, turning "protectors of the law into perpetrators of serious cognisable offences".
The agency claimed its officers were intimidated, threatened, and prevented from performing their statutory duties during search and seizure operations conducted as part of a multi-state probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the ED, its officers were surrounded by a mob allegedly instigated by political functionaries, during which official files and electronic devices containing incriminating material were forcibly snatched and destroyed.
The agency asserted that the destruction and tampering of evidence were deliberate and systematic, warranting mandatory registration of an FIR under criminal law.
The ED has named the chief minister, the state’s top police officer, and the Kolkata police commissioner as accused in their official capacities, arguing that their actions and omissions directly facilitated the obstruction of justice.
The agency has invoked 17 provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including sections relating to criminal intimidation, destruction of evidence, obstruction of public servants in discharge of official duty, and criminal conspiracy.
The central agency told the apex court that it had initially approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a court-monitored investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged attack on its officers. However, it claimed that the “considerable clout enjoyed by the chief minister and her supporters” was used to engineer a disturbance inside the High Court premises itself, leading to chaos in the courtroom and forcing the judge to adjourn the matter without passing any effective order.
In an unusual assertion, the ED has contended that the disruption of judicial proceedings amounted to an attempt to derail legal scrutiny at its very inception.
The agency has urged the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that no impartial investigation is possible within the state police machinery, given the alleged involvement of the highest levels of the state executive.
The petition also refers to past incidents in West Bengal where, according to the ED, central investigating agencies were allegedly attacked or obstructed while probing cases involving leaders or functionaries of the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). These include instances where CBI officials were allegedly prevented from carrying out court-mandated investigations, which the ED says demonstrate a recurring pattern of resistance to central probes in the state.
The case is likely to revive the long-running confrontation between the BJP-led Union government and the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.
Beyond the immediate allegations, the petition raises significant constitutional questions on the limits of executive authority, the accountability of elected functionaries, and the extent to which the Supreme Court can direct criminal proceedings against a sitting chief minister and senior police officers.
Legal experts note that while the Supreme Court has, in exceptional circumstances, ordered registration of FIRs and transferred investigations to central agencies, directing criminal action against a sitting chief minister remains a rare and high-threshold exercise.
The case is expected to be listed for hearing later this week.